We've seen glasses-free 3D in computer monitors before, such as the Sony ELF-SR2 Spatial Reality Display and the Lenovo ThinkVision 27. But we've never seen the technology in a mainstream gaming monitor apart from Acer's SpatialView line, which was itself derived from professional use cases. The Samsung Odyssey 3D ($1,999) is a pure 4K gaming display capable of ultra-high-definition, glasses-free 3D, though it has several caveats. The technology is indeed eye-popping—it’s the best implementation of no-glasses 3D gaming to date. But the Odyssey 3D's very high price and very limited library of supported titles limit its initial appeal.

Design and Ports: A Sleek, Silvery Screen

The most exciting product in Samsung’s 2025 Odyssey portfolio, the Odyssey 3D makes quite an entrance. Sporting an all-silver body that Samsung has dubbed Mercury Silver, the 27-inch monitor is 21.3 by 24.2 by 8 inches (HWD) and weighs 16.5 pounds. 

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Unlike other premium gaming monitors such as the Alienware 27 4K QD-OLED (AW2725Q) and the LG 27 UltraGear OLED (27GX790A), the Odyssey 3D bucks the OLED trend and instead uses a 4K IPS panel. IPS panels are not as vibrant as OLEDs, but they still offer wide viewing angles and good color range, and they aren't prone to burn-in. They’re also usually less expensive, which means the Odyssey 3D’s monster of a price tag is mostly down to the 3D tech inside.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

A wide, sturdy stand holds the monitor upright and offers height adjustment, pivot, and tilt—though no swivel. Just under the monitor’s chin, you’ll find a strip of RGB lighting. When active, the LEDs detect and complement the colors of your screen.

At the back of the monitor, you’ll find an outward-facing cluster of ports with two HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-A ports, a USB-B upstream connector, a headphone jack, and a DisplayPort 1.4 input. The on-screen display (OSD) controls are also tucked away with the port hub. I love outward-facing ports, as they make cord management a lot easier, and I’ll always praise the inclusion of a headphone jack, though in this case, I also appreciate that the monitor’s built-in speakers offer above-average sound quality.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Still, overall, the monitor is a little short on ports. The addition of a USB-C connector would be especially welcome here. Also, the monitor doesn’t offer support for DisplayPort 2.1, the latest standard that’s been increasingly showing up on premium gaming monitors. My guess is that Samsung opted for DisplayPort 1.4 because it recommends using the HDMI port on your GPU for the best 3D experience, so the advantages DisplayPort 2.1 brings aren't as relevant here.

Software: Tapping Into New Realities

Not too long ago, you'd associate 3D technology with cardboard glasses, amusement-park gimmicks, and a feature best turned off when playing a Nintendo 3DS. But in recent years, the technology has grown beyond a gimmick in entertainment, finding uses in fields like industrial training, engineering, and architecture. Samsung, however, has apparently not lost sight of the display technology’s potential for home entertainment, and in particular, how it can be used to elevate PC gaming.

Using eye-tracking technology, a proprietary lenticular lens, and view-mapping algorithms, the Odyssey 3D can create a 3D image that doesn't immediately make you want to close your eyes. For it to work its magic, you have to position yourself directly in front of the monitor with the lenses at about eye level. You’ll also need to connect your computer to the USB-B port on the monitor and download Samsung’s Reality Hub app.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Reality Hub is a fairly simple game launcher. When opened, the app scans your computer for compatible games. It doesn’t matter what platform you own the game on; if it’s compatible, you can expect it to play nice with the 3D monitor, whether you purchased it on Steam, the Epic Games Store, or somewhere else.

The Reality Hub displays compatible games in either a list or a grid for easy access. Samsung says it is collaborating with major game developers to make titles compatible. These games will offer tailored 3D experiences. The first of these collaborations is The First Berserker: Khazan, which is marked with a gold ribbon in the Reality Hub. Samsung says Lies of P will also receive the same treatment, though as of this writing, it was missing the gold ribbon of approval.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Games co-developed by Samsung will have their 3D settings baked into the game’s settings menu, accessible in either the Display or Graphics sections. That contrasts with the wider stable of games that are simply compatible. For these games, a small 3D overlay will appear at the top right corner of the screen with shortcuts to change the intensity of the 3D Pop-Out and 3D Depth features. 

During my initial hands-on testing of the Odyssey 3D, I noted that the default shortcut buttons were sometimes mapped to the same keys as important in-game controls, which made adjusting settings awkward. In Palworld, for example, I had to roll every time I wanted to adjust the 3D setting—not ideal! At the time, it was unclear if you could change those shortcuts, but I’m happy to report that you can change the shortcuts in Reality Hub.

Performance Testing: A Capable Gaming Monitor for 2D, Too

We’ll get back to 3D game testing closer to the end of this review, but first, we have to put the Odyssey 3D through our benchmark regimen. We measured color gamut, brightness, and contrast ratio using Calman monitor calibration software and a Klein K-10A colorimeter. We also ran the monitor through a gauntlet of games to measure input lag and judge its real-world performance.

In our first test, we benchmarked the brightness with the monitor's default gaming profile over an SDR signal. Under these conditions, we saw an average brightness of 328 nits (candelas per square meter). That’s a smidge under the maximum 350 nits of brightness the monitor is rated for. Still, it’s brighter than most OLED monitors we've tested recently, including the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8. (We could not measure HDR brightness, due to an issue with our testing equipment.)

(Credit: Portrait Displays)

Moving from brightness to color gamut performance, the monitor spanned 99.6% of the sRGB color gamut, 84.1% of Adobe RGB, and 91% of DCI-P3 (see the chart above) in our tests.

The 3D Odyssey is rated for a peak contrast ratio of 1,000:1. In our testing, we measured a ratio of 1,376:1, which is excellent for an IPS monitor.

Input Lag

To measure the monitor’s input lag, we deployed the Leo Bodnar 4K Input Lag Tester. We also played a handful of games from our library to check for any noticeable blemishes, like screen tearing. 

We recorded 9.2 milliseconds (ms) of input lag for the Odyssey 3D at both 4K/60Hz and 1080p/60Hz. Switching to 1440p/60Hz, the input lag ticked up a smidge, to 11.1ms. The Bodnar doesn’t support testing at the monitor’s 165Hz ceiling, but we can see what the input lag would be like at 120Hz. We noted 5ms of input lag at 1080p/120Hz, and 18.4ms of input lag at 1440p/120Hz.

We consider input lag of 16ms or less to be playable, at least for casual play at 60Hz. If you’re a competitive gamer, you’ll want to seek the kind of even lower input lag found in esports monitors like the LG 27GX790A. But overall, our takeaway is that the Odyssey 3D doesn’t really compromise quick response times in the pursuit of glasses-free 3D. 

In addition, the monitor supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and is Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. These technologies reduce choppiness, screen lag, and image tearing when paired with any of today’s high-end graphics cards.

Gaming Performance

Our ad hoc game testing is a little different for this monitor than for other gaming monitors, as we spent all of our time playing in 3D. At launch, Samsung confirmed these 3D-compatible titles:

• Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
• F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch
• Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy—Definitive Edition
• Little Nightmares II
• Palworld
• The Smurfs: Dreams
• SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake
• Stray
• Wigmund

Fifty titles are slated for compatibility by the end of the year. Forthcoming ones include Darksiders Genesis, Like a Dragon: Ishin!, Octopath Traveler, and Psychonauts 2.

Admittedly, this is a strange mix of titles, but they all have one thing in common: They were all developed using Unreal Engine 4. Samsung has confirmed that the monitor will support only Unreal Engine-developed games. The company has not confirmed if that support will extend to games developed in Unreal Engine 5, though.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

To ensure I got the most out of my testing, I needed enough computing power to run games at 4K with 3D on. So I did my testing on the most muscular desktop we had in our lab: the Alienware Area-51 (2025). It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, and 64GB of RAM.

Samsung provided testing codes for Palworld and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. As mentioned earlier in the review, I was initially worried I wouldn’t be able to remap the shortcuts on the Reality Hub overlay, but with that concern out of the way, I could focus on exploring Palworld’s opening hour in full 3D—and it looked good. The 3D effect is impossible to capture on video or in photographs, though, so you'll have to take my word for it.

I felt the same way about SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake. Both games have colorful visuals that look great in 3D. Text boxes were easy to read, and I was overall impressed with the 3D effect. After a minute or two to adjust, my eyes felt no strain. I could even move slightly from side to side without disrupting the 3D effect. 

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

I wasn’t able to play The First Berserker: Khazan again for this review, but I was blown away by how good the 3D looked in this game during earlier hands-on time I had with this panel at Samsung's own facility when they demoed it for me. I was impressed by the depth of field and that there seemed to be no visual compromises to make it happen.

Overall, the games I tested in 3D worked well and didn’t make my eyes ache after a few moments of play, but that doesn't entirely make up for the fact that there are so few games co-developed with Samsung for maximum compatibility. For now, you'd be buying this panel mostly for the future promise.

Media Playback Performance

The Odyssey 3D also uses artificial intelligence to transform compatible 2D video content into 3D. I tried the tech out on a few movie and game trailers, as well as a few music videos.

Again, I was impressed by how well it worked, even though it was not as impressive as playing games in 3D. The effect also comes with a few caveats: You can't use HDR; you must be watching in full screen; and you cannot use the effect on content with digital rights management (DRM) enabled.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The lack of DRM support is especially limiting. For example, I tried using the 3D effect on a free Hollywood movie available on YouTube, and I was greeted by a black screen. If Samsung offered a library of movies that could utilize the effect like the co-developed games can, it might be a different story. As for now, the 2D-to-3D conversion is a fun party trick—and that’s it.

Speaking of caveats, to use the 3D video conversion, you’ll need an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU or higher, or an equivalent AMD GPU. In addition, Samsung recommends an Intel Core i7 or higher—or an AMD Ryzen 7 1700X or higher—and 32GB of DDR5-5600 RAM.